I have been a fan of Lila Downs for years, and have had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times. The first time was when I attended one of her live performances in San Francisco around 2002. The second time was in Oakland, at the Strong Medicine Concert, where I was lucky enough to get a media pass to roam around and take pictures. She’s a fascinating singer, her voice a powerhouse of emotion, her lyrics an umbrella of social consciousness and history.

I didn’t come across La Mari until the end of 2006. It happened on a trip to Puerto Rico. I was at Denise’s, and we were taking while Ricky Martin’s Unplugged was playing in the background. My attention wandered off from the conversation as La Mari’s voice started taking over in Tu Recuerdo. I think I literally fell in love with her in a split second (reality came by a couple of seconds later to bring me back to Planet Earth). Minutes later Chambao was part of my music library.

Months later I came across some bit of news where Lila and La Mari were both in the same label, and that they were planning on working together at some point in the future. Hello Mr. Pavlov. And it wasn’t until this past weekend that something showed up on the radio, randomly. I recognized Lila’s voice nearly immediately, and La Mari’s followed close behind in Ojo de Culebra. Yum. There is nothing wrong with dreaming and wishing, and so I’m hedging bets on a three-way collaboration: Lila Downs, La Mari and Carol C (from Si*Sé). Yum!